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Kurenaikoushi (spirit)
|gender = Female |height = 162 cm |weight = 50kg |master = Akimoto Kazuma |bankai = Tankyuusha no Kurenaishi |roleplay debut = Unknown |series debut = Bleach: Project Genseki |english = Tia Ballard |japanese = Yui Horie}} :"A children's story that never ends. Everlasting." - Reversereality Kurenaikoushi (紅格子, Deep Red Lattice) is a Zanpakutou spirit. Its release command is Celebrate (祝, Iwa). In katana form, the blade is the same as that of the sealed-form of Odoruningyō. While Kurenaikoushi was conceived from Akimoto's soul, it is Ren's life force that is keeping Akimoto's soul alive and hence, Kurenaikoushi is Ren herself. Appearance Kurenaikoushi's shoulder-length brown hair flows downward and her bangs are on a side fringe. She has piercing purple eyes that command a magnificent presence to her. Her smile is carefree and natural, but gives off an unsettling atmosphere of a tough mother-like vibe. When in Bankai, her eyes become red and there are notable scars and bruises etched everywhere into her body except her face. The most incriminating scar is the one on the back of her neck. Personality Ren is a theatrical girl with a knack for flair. She tends to daydream and push the buttons of those around her even in the most dire situations. She shares this trait with her friends Akimoto and Juro Kazuma, but she dominates them in theatrics and flair. This is due to her exposure to various plays that she's acquired such as Shakespeare's. She possesses a wide imagination that captivates the minds of others, especially Akimoto. Her imagination stems from the books that she has read throughout her life, which causes her to make harmless delusions about the things that she does not know about. This makes her appear unfocused, but Akimoto and Juro truly know that people mistake her finesse for an unruly and scatterbrained persona. This is what makes her very close to the Kazuma twins. She has bitter snaps of anger, especially when it comes to a lack of integrity in people, and is quick to hold a grudge to those who fail to hold their end of the bargain. This proves to be a problem for her health and mentality, because she still hopes for the chance of the other person's redemption while she continues to place herself in dangerous situations just to test someone's character. However, her grudge only applied to Akimoto, so it is hard to say how far she will take her 'mercy' towards other people. This is a surprise, for she tends to hide her troubles behind a smile that even Akimoto couldn't tell that she has a problem. Despite this, she will take great measures to protect her friends, especially Akimoto. She is deeply devoted to him and takes great measures to protect his well-being. As a hostess, she is elegant and charming, much to her truer nature. Nevertheless, work and play are integrated, for she lives her life to actualize her own self through her profession. This leads her to be happy with whatever she does, as long as there is company that she can share her joys with. However, she is a lonely person and craves company wherever she goes, hence her effort and investment in the Kazuma twins. Her self-sacrificing tendencies to prove a point stem from her idea of strength. She sees strength as one that gives it other people and mainly embodies the strength and will for Akimoto to live on and bear the burden of his and her traumas. By sacrificing or investing a part of herself, she empowers others. This is mainly why she takes a strong liking towards Akimoto, and it implies that it because of her nature to give guidance and strength for Akimoto that she treasures him in the first place. Amon Isa finds this part about her to be deranged and border-line obsessive. It is also noted that she holds love in a very high regard and strives to share this with Akimoto. She is a firm believer that love empowers all and teaches what love is to Akimoto without success. She sees love as a selfless act and gives her heart out to empower Akimoto through numerous deeds that he isn't aware of. However, like Akimoto, this sparks concern from those who also care about her health and well-being. Now as a Zanpakutou spirit, Ren does not need food and water for nourishment and has become more upbeat and lively. She also becomes more flirtatious as a result, and now has confidence to flaunt her new scar-less body to irritate and fluster Akimoto. Ren finally abandons her martyr-like complex now that she, as Kurenaikoushi, can watch over and strengthen Akimoto for as long as he lives. Plot Note: See Renai Iwasaki for info of Kurenaikoushi's past. Atonement Arc Bankai Experimentation Arc Crusaders' Prelude Arc TIMESKIP (post winter war) ??? Arc Memoirs Arc Ren senses the disappearance of Hakuchou's presence and then swiftly moves to the Kazuma household. Bearing witness to Akimoto's lifeless body on his bedside, she weeps with the Kazuma family. Ren then stays by his bedside in silence for hours as she mourns. She then orders Juro to preserve Akimoto's body, so that he can buy time for Ren to learn Bankai. Since she already knew how to use Hakuchou no Mizumi and manifest Hakuchou unto the real world, acquiring Bankai from Kokuchou took her a less amount of time. Nearing the end of five months, Ren finally manifests Kokuchou. Kokuchou is aware of Ren's objective to save Akimoto and tests her strength and will. The two fight for hours with Ren emerging the victor and acquiring her Bankai. After a week of rest, Ren and Juro go to Akimoto's body. A reluctant Juro watches Ren activate her Bankai, Saigonobutai. Ren then apologizes to Juro for her selfishness and likens herself to be Akimoto. She gives off a parting smile to her friend and faces Akimoto with loving eyes. She says that when Akimoto wakes up, all memories of her will be erased and there is nothing that Juro can do about it. She says that Akimoto may never be the same, and she cries along with Juro. She then kills herself by committing seppuku and pours her blood unto Akimoto's bedside. To hide her body when Akimoto awakens, Juro casts Kyokkō. With her life as the toll for Blood Price, Ren uses her life energy as a surrogate for Akimoto's body. He then awakens from death bearing the color of Ren's eyes and with no memory of his childhood friend. Juro seals part of Akimoto's memory, namely his death. Memento Mori Arc After reading Juro's book, Akimoto rushes to Ren's grave. He then pulls out his Zanpakutou and attempts to stab himself to death. Being unconscious from the blood loss, Akimoto is pulled into the Inner World and encounters, Ren, who has become a Zanpakutou spirit sealed within his sword as a replacement for Odoruningyō. As he murmurs out her name, Ren smiles and says that he managed to remember, but her voice remains barely audible. She then tells Akimoto that if does not learn her 'other name,' then Akimoto will die along with Ren. She yells out her 'other name' for Akimoto to say her before she fades away along with Akimoto's own life. Dumbfounded as to why Ren is fading away, Akimoto grabs her and tries to listen to her muffled words. Ren's body flickers madly and their Inner World starts to collapse. Akimoto then manages to pick up Ren's words and calls out her Zanpakutou name. The Inner World then starts to build back together, and Ren's flickering existence starts to solidify once again with her words clear and completely audible. Ren then sends Akimoto back into the real world where he meets up with a happy Juro, who is glade that his brother is 'back.' Powers and Abilities High Spiritual Power: As a Zanpakutou spirit, Kurenaikoushi boasts high levels of Reiatsu. Akimoto notes that her Reiatsu feels like the rush of an autumn wind. Her Reiatsu is colored purple. : Through training with Amon and Shizuka as Ren, Kurenaishi has developed at least a standard offensive capability in Zanjutsu. She leans more to the spectrum of defensive stances and strikes to parry and disarm opponents, which likens her skills to that of the apparition in Akimoto's dream. Nevertheless, Kurenaikoushi possesses the same style of fighting when she was Ren. Zanpakutou Abilities Kurenaikoushi (紅格子, Deep Red Lattice): Its sealed-form is Akimoto's Zanpakutou-- the same Zanpakutou that housed the spirit of Odoruningyō prior to Akimoto's death. Following his revival, Kurenaikoushi houses this exact same katana. * Shikai: Its release command is "Celebrate" '''(祝, Iwa). The katana glows red and unwinds into a red thread. The long thread then coils and forms into a pair of red gloves. :Shikai Special Ability: Kurenaikoushi is a Kido-type that specializes in the manipulation and control of the user's Spirit Ribbons to form weapons. By weaving out imaginary strings as if playing with a cat's cradle, Kurenaikoushi can form structures with her Spirit Ribbons relating to the shapes she makes. Such structures ranges from stringed and laced barriers to swords and spears made from condensed Spirit Ribbons. The Spirit Ribbons can also condense into finer tougher strings that can cut and bind. Kurenaikoushi can also manipulate the color of the strings in order to deceive. From this, she can make Spirit Ribbon copy of herself and manipulate it from afar like a puppet using Spirit Ribbons as the strings. By using Reiatsu, Kurenaikoushi can harden her structures to be as durable and/or sharp as a wall or blade. Because Spirit Ribbons by nature are flimsy, it requires excellent Reiryoku control to use them as offensive weapons. She can also use her Spirit Ribbons as puppet strings. When creating new structures manually, Kurenaikoushi can give them a name and 'preset' them into strict and carefully made gestures that attribute to the new structure. This means that Kurenaikoushi must create or invent a structure and then 'preset' it into a technique. The numerous amounts of techniques to be learned as are boundless as far as her imagination goes. However, negligence of techniques and abilities will make it harder for Kurenaikoushi to perform, and she must create and preset them from scratch. Because of this, recreating a 'forgotten' ability will always never be the same as the original. She attributes her Shikai ability to her shared mentality with Akimoto's child-like wonder and imagination. '''Bankai: Tankyuusha no Kurenaishi (探求者の紅糸, Seeker of the Red String): The gloves and remnant Spirit Ribbons gather and form into a single red-edge katana laced with black on the blunt side of the blade. Tankyuusha no Kurenaishi still takes on the appearance of the Shikai's spirit manifestation, but with red eyes and scars on her body. :Bankai Special Ability: Whenever the blade cuts a Spirit Ribbon, a laceration is made on the root to where it was attached. The stronger the cut, the deeper the laceration. This allows her to cut opponents down even when she misses her mark. This ability exactly like that of Odoruningyō's '12th Session' and shares the same weakness where she must be wary not to cut her own Spirit Ribbons. In addition to the laceration being made, the sliced Spirit Ribbon is absorbed into the blade. This makes the user know where the target is regardless of the distance and dimension. This allows one to track the wounded target and deal the finishing blow. Kurenaikoushi mentions to Akimoto that this pays homage to the idea of the 'Red String of Fate' somewhat, for it ensures that the 'seeker' is destined to find 'the one' regardless of circumstance. She attributes her Bankai ability to her wish with the Kazuma twins that promises of their destined reunion from time to time. Stats Relationships Akimoto Kazuma Akimoto is Ren's childhood friend, whom she loves very much to the point where she would suffer to a make him understand a point. They often tease each other and are comfortable in each other's presence to the point where they can be rude to one another without any hard feelings. Despite her grudge, she is truly caring for Akimoto and has engraved him into a special place in her heart. Despite her feelings, she is hesitant to reveal her affection because he does not understand romantic love. So she tries to show him what love is through her stories and tales of various authors and such. Other than that, she and Akimoto trust each other very much. She has learned to forgive Akimoto's sins against her and schemes to make Akimoto into a more developed, mature, and kind man. She even gives up her life so that Akimoto can live. Now that Ren serves as Kurenaikoushi and has become the manifestation of Akimoto's Zanpakutou, their dynamic has changed drastically and turned for the better. She ceases her self-sacrificial ways and now caters to improve Akimoto's skills as a Soul Reaper. Their relationship transcends far beyond a partnership, and since the two were childhood friends, they remain close as ever. Akimoto accepts Ren's feelings and the two has formed an inseparable and chaste union. Juro Kazuma Ren is also platonically close to Juro. During the Akimoto's absence, Juro was the one that visited her to give news of Akimoto's whereabouts. Other than that, they continued to share new stories that happened in their lives. She and Juro also continue to conspire together in order to ease Akimoto's burden and guilt. Sometime after Aizen's defeat, Juro mentors Ren with Bakudo spells and teaches her Teori Eishō and later on, has his partners mentor her in Kido, Shunpo, and Zanjutsu. His greatest display of emotion was the sadness he bears beside Akimoto's death bed and the anguish he holds when Ren makes her sacrifice to revive Akimoto, showing his strong closeness with her. Having lost a friend, Juro chronicles the tales of he and his friends unto a book in respect for Ren. Since Ren did not tell what Juro should do with her body, Juro buries her beside the large blackthorn where the trio would constantly meet as kids. He then sets up a grave for her. As Kurenaikoushi, she has watched over Juro's silent anguish over her death and the grief over Akimoto's memories. By having Akimoto manifest her in the Real World, she can continue to communicate with her friend. Trivia * Kurenaikoushi's name and release-command bear resemblance to the name of Renai Iwasaki. * She bears the color of Akimoto's eyes. Akimoto's eye color bears Ren's upon revival. * Much like Hakuchou, Kurenaikoushi is conceived by non-standard means. In the latter's case, she is molded from Ren's life force that is keeping Akimoto's soul alive. She is also a Zanpakutou who's spirit was manifested with the asuachi by molding into Akimoto's 'surrogate soul'. Since this 'surrogate soul' or life force was Ren's, Kurenaikoushi is in fact Ren herself. * Kurenaikoushi's Inner World is the inside of a bird cage with a red and white tiled floor. * Ren's true name is Kurenai. * Kurenaikoushi does not bear scars from her 'past life'. Because of this, it seems that her body can be loved now that it isn't wretched in scars. This alludes to her words to Akimoto in the Atonement Arc. However, when in Bankai, her scars and red eyes return. * The kanji for Tankyuusha no Kurenaishi is tricky to translate to romaji due to the mix of the 'on' and 'kun' wordings in the name. * Since a Zanpakutou is a reflection of the Soul Reaper's soul, it is implied that since Akimoto's death and revival, he has 'become' 'Ren.' However, he retains the facets of his own personality, mind, and memories, he is still 'Akimoto'. Behind the Scenes * Her power is fashioned out like cat's cradle, one of Ren's hobbies. This will reflect her power with Spirit Ribbons (a Soul Reaper's in particular). * For homage to Odoruningyō, Kurenaikoushi's Shikai and Bankai powers are very similar to hers. Quotes * (To Akimoto Kazuma)"I am glad that you can remember me. Take comfort that I will always be with you, and should you go out into the world, do not forget to bring me with you." * (To Akimoto Kazuma) "What's in a name, Akimoto? Hehe, anyways, you may call me Renai Iwasaki if you want~ But since Kurenaikoushi is the name the asuachi has chosen, you ought to at least address me as such." * (To Akimoto Kazuma) "Nehehe~ This body is lovely isn't it? Does it make you want to fall in love, Akimoto?" * (To Akimoto Kazuma) "Yes I am Ren. To be exact, I am also not her. I was the asuachi that has turned into 'Ren'. But since it was 'me' that has breathed life into your lifeless body, then surely I am the real thing. It's good too see you again, Akimoto. I have missed you so much." Category:Kido-Type Category:Zanpakutō Spirit Category:Characters